Telematics units within mobile vehicles provide subscribers with connectivity to a telematics service provider (TSP). The TSP provides subscribers with an array of services ranging from emergency call handling and stolen vehicle recovery to diagnostics monitoring, global positioning system (GPS) aided navigation, map services, and turn-by-turn navigation assistance. Telematics units are often provisioned and activated at a point of sale when a subscriber purchases a telematics-equipped vehicle. Upon activation, the telematics unit can be utilized to provide a subscriber with a variety of telematics services.
The process of provisioning and activating a telematics unit involves the acquisition and registration by the telematics service provider of unique identifiers associated with a particular telematics unit that are stored on a chip or memory card integrated with the particular telematics unit. Furthermore, the provisioning and activating processes involves initiating and verifying a subscription with a mobile wireless network service provider. The subscription with the mobile wireless network service provider enables the TSP to communicate with the telematics unit and thereby provide telematics services. Methods for maintaining correct identifiers for subscriber devices and for the mobile wireless network services through which TSPs communicate with subscriber devices ensure that telematics services may be efficiently and effectively provided by TSPs to subscribers when they are requested.